A lobster roll is a sandwich native to New England, where lobstermen and women have gathered crustaceans from the Atlantic Ocean for centuries.

Chunks of lobster meat are served on a grilled New England-style hot dog-style bun with with squared edges, the roll opening on the top rather than the side like conventional, rounded hot dog rolls.

Some lobster rolls are simply lobster on a buttered, toasted roll. Sometimes, the lobster is mixed with different ingredients: mayonnaise, melted butter, diced celery, chopped scallions or onion and/or lemon juice, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Potato chips or french fries are the typical sides—and of course, a beer

Luke’s lobster roll is the first style: lots of lobster in a great toasted, buttered roll for $16.

Luke’s Lobster is nationwide upscale chain of lobster shacks and trucks that has brought delicious lobster rolls, shrimp rolls and crab rolls and other goodies (lobster grilled cheese, lobster mac ‘n’ cheese and more) to crustacean lovers at 28 locations nationwide (and more overseas).
 
 
HOW TO IMPROVE ON THE LOBSTER ROLL: ADD CAVIAR

For the holiday season, now through January, the already luxurious Luke’s lobster roll has gotten a royal garnish: fine sturgeon caviar from Petrossian.

You can order the lobster roll with a 20-gram tin of of Petrossian’s Baika caviar (Acipenser Baerii—photo #2) from Lake Baikal in Siberia. The caviar retails at Petrossian, $65 for 30 grams. For $45-$50, depending on location, you get the $16 lobster roll plus the 20g tin of caviar.

The caviar is enough to top the roll; some people may be tempted to dip the side of Cape Cod Potato Chips into it.

Alas, it’s only available at some Luke’s locations. Check for the one nearest you.

You can give a gift card from Luke’s Lobster, and order caviar and other delicacies at Petrossian.

[2] Baika sturgeon caviar from Petrossian (photo courtesy Petrossian).

According to the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, the lobster roll originated in 1929 at Perry’s restaurant in Milford, Connecticut. It was initially served hot.

Its popularity then spread along the Connecticut coast, with the warm sandwich called a lobster roll and the cold version a lobster salad roll.

When did the butter come in? As far back as 1970, chopped lobster meat heated in drawn butter was served on a hot dog roll at roadside stands in Maine [source].

In our opinion, simplest is best. The mayo, celery, etc. are only needed when the lobster isn’t fresh and naturally sweet. Which it always is at Luke’s Lobster.

In North America, the lobster was not eaten by genteel people until the mid-19th century, when New Yorkers and Bostonians developed a taste for it [source].
 

There were so many lobsters in the waters of New England that they just washed up on shore, and were looked at as if they were refuse. They became food for the poor, the way for the hungry to get their protein.

Lobsters were collected and fed to prisoners, as well. Here’s more about it.
 
 

[2] At right: Little snow people in dark, milk and white chocolate (package of 10 assorted). Big snow people are also available (all photos courtesy Dean’s Sweets).

Everything made by Dean’s Sweets, in Portland, Maine, is delicious.

Dean Bingham, a professional architect, began making truffles years ago as a somewhat-casual, somewhat-serious sideline.

Encouraged by everyone who tasted them, he opened a shop, Dean’s Sweets, in 2004.

You’ll find all the classics chocolate truffles, bars and novelties, like chocolate-covered espresso beans, sheep and buttercrunch.

For holiday stocking stuffers, we particularly like the chocolate bar trio (photo #1) for $10 ($3.65 individually):

 
Also check out the:

 
You’ll have fun browsing the entire website.

GET YOUR CHOCOLATE AT DEANSSWEETS.COM
 
 

Easy homemade lollipops are fun edible gift for kids and adults alike. There are just three ingredients!

Thee crystal-clear base enables you to show off whatever colors and shapes you like.

And it’s not just for the Christmas-Chanukah-Kwanzaa holidays:

You can make them to celebrate any occasion of the year, just by changing the inclusions. (Get ready for Valentine’s Day!)

Here’s the recipe from Just A Taste.
 
 
CHECK IT OUT:

THE HISTORY OF LOLLIPOPS

Fun to make, fun to give (photo courtesy Just A Taste)

Get your red and green on for the holidays (photo courtesy Pom Wonderful).

From Pom Wonderful, the company that popularized pomegranate in the U.S., here’s an easy holiday cocktail (prep time is just 3 minutes) with a red and green garnish.

For a mocktail, substitute ginger ale for the vermouth.
 
 
RECIPE: POM WONDERFUL VERMOUTH SPARKLER

Ingredients For 2 Six-Ounce Drinks

1. FILL two tall glasses with crushed ice, interspersing some of the pomegranate arils as shown in the photo.

2. MIX the vermouth and pomegranate juice together, and divide the mixture into the glasses.

3. CRUSH the rosemary lightly and place the sprig in the glass. Top with club soda and a squeeze of lemon. Garnish with additional pomegranate arils.
 
 
Here are more food-and-drink recipes from Pom Wonderful.
  

Several years ago we received this recipe via the James Beard Foundation. We made it ourselves, but never published it because it’s a “niche” recipe for that intersection of foodies and matzoh balls.

But after getting some positive feedback about yesterday’s matzoh ball salad recipe (“What a great idea!”), we promised to publish it.

The recipe is from one of our favorite creative chefs, Wayne Harley Brachman. We don’t know where he’s cooking right now, but we send him thanks through the ether.

Don’t know what gribenes (GRIH-ben-ness) are? Here’s an explanation, along with two more recipes for matzoh ball soup.

 
RECIPE: TRUFFLED MATZOH BALL SOUP

This is not a conventional matzoh ball soup with carrots, celery, onions and herbs (photo #1). Rather, it highlights the truffled matzoh balls in a truffle-flavored stock.

Prep time is 1 hour 40 minutes, cook time is 30 minutes.

For another different take on matzoh ball soup, try this dashi matzoh ball soup from Chef Eric Tanaka (photo #2). The chicken is poached in dashi, made from shiitake mushrooms, kombu (dried kelp) and bonito flakes.

Ingredients For The Soup

 
For The Shiitake Gribenes

 
Optional Garnish

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the gribenes. Sauté the chicken skin until the fat exudes and is lightly golden. Sauté the onion until it is a deep golden brown. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Strain to separate the solids from oil and reserve both. Sauté the mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of the oil in the pan until wilted. Remove the shiitakes and reserve them for the matzoh balls.

2. MAKE the matzoh balls. Mix together schmaltz, stock, truffle oil, salt and eggs. Mix in the matzoh meal, blending thoroughly. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. FORM the matzoh balls into golf ball-size, and stuff each with a teaspoon of shiitake gribenes in the center. Cook, covered, in 2 quarts of boiling chicken stock for 20 minutes until.

4. SERVE the soup (stock) with the matzoh balls.

[2] Truffled matzoh ball soup, (photo courtesy James Beard Foundation).

[3] Matzoh, matzoh farfel and matzoh meal (photo courtesy Cooking Light).

Matzoh meal is simply matzoh that has been ground into a coarse flour (photo #3).

The small, broken pieces between the matzoh and the matzoh meal are farfel, used for stuffing, casseroles, garnish, etc.

Read more about it at Cooking Light.